Berks Book Bonanza is a 100% volunteer organization with no salaries paid to our team members. All funds raised, less expenses, are distributed among two, local organizations—the Friends of Berks County Public Libraries and American Association of University Women (AAUW) Reading Branch.

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The organization has three primary goals:

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1. Raise money for the two organizations we support: the Reading Branch of the AAUW and the Friends of the Berks County Libraries. Most recently we were able to provide $20,000 to each organization to provide scholarships for Berks County women and for cash donations to every library in Berks County, respectively.

2. Make gently used books available at a low cost. To this end, we sell almost all of our donated books for $2, $1 or $0.50 for hardbacks, paperbacks and children’s books, respectively. At the end of our September 2024 sale and for many past sales we have invited other non-profit and community groups to come in and take our leftover books.

3. Properly recycle the books that are not saleable. To accomplish this we contract with a local recycler and we pay to have the non-saleable books properly recycled.

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Our organization thrives on the generous contributions from community members through the donation of gently-used books, DVDs, puzzles, and more. While we strive to ensure all donations are sorted and marked for display during our annual fundraiser, there may be situations in which donations are instead recycled.

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These include:

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• Materials that are heavily damaged. Well-loved books and games that show advanced wear-and-tear.

• Materials that come in contact with mold. We understand there are times when donations may be brought in and, unbeknownst to the donor, their storage box or items within may contain mold. For the health and safety of our volunteers and shoppers, we recycle these items immediately upon discovery.

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While there are costs associated with recycling these items, we find there are significant community and environmental benefits to offering this service by helping donors clear their closets/bookshelves while limiting the amount of waste that would ultimately find its way to a landfill.

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Berks Book Bonanza is made possible through the tireless support of its volunteers and generosity of donors who help fully stock our sale every year while providing a second life to gently-used books.